No Escape From The Past
by Shadowmjl
Summary: Val has moved to Mobotropolis to start a new life and forget who he once was. But it won't last long because Gabe has plans to steal Val's demon; Venom.
1. Chapter 1

No Escape From The Past

Chapter 1

As the sun rose over Mobotropolis, Val the Hedgehog emerged from a shower, he grabbed a towel and dried himself before putting on a pair of pants and a tank top. He walked out of the bathroom and into a fairly large room with a desk, several cabinets of weapons, boards with maps of the city and a pool table.

Val strolled over to his desk while drying his hair. Suddenly the phone on the desk started ringing. Val sat in the chair in front of the desk and picked up the receiver, "Sorry, we're not open for business yet." He then put the phone down, "Damn, I haven't had this place open for a day and already I'm getting calls."

"This peace won't last." a voice called out. Val stood up and walked over to a mirror on the wall, his reflection was of a pure black hedgehog with no mouth and venomous yellow eyes, "What do you mean, Venom?" asked Val

"You escaped Tech City to find a new life, and yes, you've found a good life here…but it won't last." replied the black hedgehog

"Why not?"

"Because of one simple fact; you can't escape you're past."

Before Val could reply, he heard a knock at the door, he walked over and opened the door, revealing an emerald green echidna, "Jade!?" Val shouted, before he had a chance to move, Jade tackled him to the floor and pinned him down, "What the Hell do you want, you bitch?"

Jade smirked and licked Val's cheek, "You're even sexier then you were the last time we met."

Val looked disgusted, "I won't ask you again."

"Your brother sent me to deliver a message."

"So you're on Gabe's payroll now huh? Fine, what message?"

"He wants you to meet him at the top of the Tower of Demonica in one hour."

"Tower of Demonica? Where's that?"

Jade smirked as the ground began to shake, after a few minutes the shaking stopped. Jade stood up and pointed out the window, Val looked to where she was pointing and saw a colossal stone tower in the centre of the city stretching high into the sky, "That, is the Tower of Demonica." said Jade

Val glared at the edifice, "So Gabe wants me to meet him there?"

Jade smirked seductively, "That's right. Good luck, see you later handsome." she then strolled out the door and disappeared.

A few short minutes later, as Val was gathering some weapons from a cabinet he heard the door open, he turned and saw a black collie and a red robotic Mobian with silvery streaks standing in the doorway, "Stacey, Kei-ron? What're you two doing here?"

"We came to see if you're alright after the earthquake." replied Stacey

"Aw, you were worried about me?" said Val sarcastically, "Well, as long as you're here, I have a favour to ask; you remember me telling you about my brother, Gabe?"

"Yeah, what about him?" asked Kei-ron

"Well he wants me to meet him at the top of that tower." Val nodded towards the giant tower in the distance

"What for?" Kei-ron asked

"I dunno, probably for a fight. It'd be just like him to do something like this."

"So, what, you want us to come with you?" asked Stacey

"No, I want you to guard this place while I'm gone." replied Val

"What?!" shouted Stacey and Kei-ron together

"There's a lot of weapons and equipment here that could be stolen or broken while I'm gone, I just need you to keep an eye on things."

"No way, I'm not a guard dog." argued Stacey

Val picked up a cowl and put it on, masking most of his face in doing so, "Please, I wouldn't ask unless I really needed your help."

"Okay, fine, we'll do it." said Kei-ron

Val smiled as he put on a long red coat, "Thanks, I'll be back soon. See ya." Val then grabbed his weapons and ran out the door.

Stacey stared at Kei-ron, "We're actually doing it?"

Kei-ron smirked, "Hell no."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

As Val ran through the now brightly lit streets, he could sense his brother high up at the top of the tower which loomed over the city. As he neared the base of the tower he saw a large wooden door with steel hinges and a large lock. Val drew his sword, which burst into flames, and slashed the lock. As the fire on Val's sword died away, the broken lock fell to the ground. Val then pushed the heavy door open and entered.

As Val entered the giant structure, he saw a spiral staircase, he looked up and saw the staircase went so far up that it disappeared into the darkness above. Val sighed, "It's never easy is it?" he then started trudging up the stairs. By the time Val made it to the top, he was tired and his time was almost up. Just above him was a solid stone ceiling and a small trapdoor. Val opened the trapdoor and climbed out. The top of the tower was simply a large stone disc, the only thing there was a strange altar with two pillars either side of it, the pillars seemed to be made of an unknown material.

As Val looked around, he heard a voice say, "Hello Val."

Val spun round and saw a white hedgehog wearing blue camouflage pants and a long blue coat, "Hello Gabe." Said Val coldly

"Aw, come now, aren't you happy to see your brother?" asked Gabe mockingly

"Not in the slightest. Now what do you want?"

"What I want…I thought I could never have…until my master aided me by erecting this tower…now, my brother, I shall take you're greatest power; your demonic essence!" Gabe leapt into the air and landed in front of the altar, he held his hands in the air, as he did, electricity flowed from the tops of the two poles to his hands. A bolt of lightning shot from Gabe's hands and struck Val, who cried out in pain.

"Yes, now, join with me…Venom!" shouted Gabe. Val's shadow then slithered across the ground and melted into Gabe's own shadow.

Val fell down onto his hands and knees as Gabe suddenly began to writhe and cry out. The white hedgehog's shadow had started crawling up his legs, encasing his body in darkness. Val looked on as Gabe began to scream, "What's happening? Get this off of me!" he was soon completely covered in shadow, nothing more then a pure black reflection of himself. Val stood up and watched as Shadow Gabe then started to grow larger and more muscular, his hands turned into claws, his teeth became fangs and his eyes turned pure white. Shadow Gabe snarled and roared as he continued to grow until he was twice as tall as he once was. Val backed up slightly, his eyes locked on this beast that was once his brother, how could this have happened? Even when Val had succumbed to Venom's power in the past, he never mutated like this…of course, Venom was **Val's **demon, not Gabe's, Gabe couldn't possibly be able to control the awesome power Venom possesses.

Val drew his sword and charged at his demonic sibling, but Gabe back-handed him, launching him over the side of the tower and sending him plummeting towards the ground far below.

As Val fell, he saw Gabe leap down towards the street miles below, seemingly unharmed by the fall, Val however had to think of a way to slow his descent. Val quickly took his sword and jammed the blade into the tower's wall, it sliced through the stone, leaving a large gash down the side of the tower, but it did slow him down enough. Val then kicked off the wall and launched himself towards a skyscraper nearby. Val smashed through a window and rolled across the floor, he then collapsed on the glass covered carpet, panting.

When Val came to, he slowly sat up, rubbing his neck, "Damn…that fall really took it out of me….oh crap, Gabe!" remembering about Shadow Gabe, Val jumped up and ran down to the front door of the building and out into the now darkening streets.

Val ran through the city for several minutes, looking for any sign of his brother, after a while he heard a scream. Following the cries for help, Val made his way across the rooftops, until eventually he found the source of the screams; a young Mobian woman was in an alleyway fighting for her life against a giant black demon, "Gabe!" shouted Val, Gabe stopped and looked up, his long tongue flicking as he growled. Val jumped into the air and started spinning, as he did, he burst into flames and charged, full force, at Gabe who couldn't move fast enough and was sent crashing into a wall behind him. Val landed next to the woman, who was cowering in the corner, Val walked over and held out his hand, "It's alright, he's gone now."

The woman cried as she covered her face with her hands, "No..i've seen demons before…but none that powerful…there's no way he's gone."

"Trust me..if he does come back, I'll stop him."

The woman slowly moved her hands from her face, Val gasped and his eyes widened as he recognized her; she was a white wolf with long black hair, she was Devina the Wolf. She surely would've recognized Val if he hadn't been wearing his cowl.

Devina took Val's hand and he helped her to her feet, "Th..thank you." She said

"No problem." Replied Val, still amazed by her appearance, 'What is she doing here?' he thought

"Hey…do i…know you?" asked Devina

Val's heart beat quickened, 'Oh no, she recognizes me' he thought quickly, "Uh..no, I don't think so, still my cowl covers my face so I kinda look like everyone."

"Well then let me see your face."

"No..i can't."

"Oh come on, I'm not even allowed to see the face of my hero?"

"Well I uh…I mean..i'm a mercenary here, if I take my cowl off, someone might see me and then I'll get arrested."

"Please…who's gonna see us?"

"Uh…well…what about you? I don't even know your name." said Val, changing the subject

"Me? I'm Devina the Wolf."

"…the famous vampire?"

Devina's smile faded, "Yes.." she hung her head, "If you're a mercenary you'll probably want to kill me, right?"

Val remained silent, Devina spoke again, "Fine…it doesn't matter anyway…my life is over."

"Wh…what do you mean?"

"I'm not from here, I came to Mobotropolis from Tech City, in the hope of finding someone; Val the Hedgehog…the man I love..but I'll never find him, and even if I do, he won't want to be with me." Devina started to cry as she spoke, Val just stood silent, staring at her, 'She…she loves me?'

Val coughed, "Well I'm sure you will find him..i mean you're a world famous vampire, I've heard about your skills."

"Well I can't find him if you're going to kill me?"

"Who said I was gonna kill you?"

Devina looked up, Val reached out and wiped her tears, "I'm not gonna kill you, and if you ever want any help finding this guy you're looking for, this 'Val' just give me a call." Val handed Devina a card with his address and phone number on it.

Devina smiled, "Thank you…for everything…Mr..?"

"Call me…Smoke…and don't worry, I'm glad to help…but just out of curiosity, if you're such a powerful vampire, how come you couldn't defend yourself against that demon?"

"Well…I guess I've just lost the will to fight…without Val…I'm lost."

Val stood silent for a moment, he then placed his hand on Devina's shoulder, "You'll find him." He then jumped up onto the rooftop and ran off, leaving Devina alone in the alley.

Later, Val sat on a rooftop ledge thinking about what happened, 'So…in one day, my brother steals my demonic power and turns into a monster…and I find out Devina's in the city looking for me…and she…loves me' he sighed, "What the Hell do I do?"


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

It was late at night when Val made it back to his house, he walked in and stopped dead, his eyes widened as he saw several semi naked female Mobians standing around the room, and in the centre of the room was Kei-ron, wearing a thick purple fur coat and a purple hat with a feather in it, "What the fuck is this!?" yelled Val, Kei-ron jumped and turned, "Oh…I'm just trying to earn a little money."  
"By doing what? Pimping?"  
"Yeah…is that a problem?"  
"Well apart from the fact it's illegal, I don't want you whoring women off in MY house!"  
Kei-ron sighed, "Fine, but you're not getting a penny from me."  
"Good, I don't want your dirty money…now where's Stacey?"  
"I think I saw her go out the back."  
Val walked over to a door and opened it, the room was a small storage room with several boxes strewn around, and there was Stacey, rolling around half naked with two women.  
"Oh my God! Stacey!" shouted Val, Stacey quickly grabbed her clothes and covered herself  
"What the Hell!?"  
"I couldn't help it, Kei-ron offered both of them for 100" said Stacey  
"I don't care, get out!"  
Stacey and the two women got up and ran out of the room. Val marched out after them, "All I asked you was to watch this place for a few hours and make sure nothing happens, and what do you do? You turn the place into a fucking whore house! Some friends you are, now get out, all of you!"  
Stacey, Kei-ron and the group of woman walked out the door and left Val alone with his thoughts. He sat in his chair and sighed, "This is too much."  
Not long after, Val fell into a deep dreamless asleep.  
He was rudely woken by the sound of a phone ringing several hours later. Val rubbed his eyes as he picked up the phone, "Hello?"  
"Smoke, it's me, Devina."  
Val gulped, "Uh, Hi…what is it?"  
"I've tried everything I can to find Val, but it's no use. I was hoping you could help me."  
"Oh, of course…I'll tell you what, if you help me with something, I'll do everything I can to help you."  
"Okay, what do I have to do?"  
"Remember that demon from yesterday? I need to track it down."  
"Okay, I can help, I guess."  
"Great, I'll meet you by the fountain near the centre of the Mobian Gardens."  
Val then put the phone down and grabbed his weapons before racing out of the door and off towards the gardens. The sun shone down over the Mobian Gardens, which had almost every type of flower on Mobius in it, near the centre was a large fountain with crystal clear water cascading down into a pool at the base. Standing next to the fountain, admiring the beauty of the garden, was Devina, 'Thank you Val…when you gave me half of your heart I became immune to sunlight…and so I can see this place in all it's glory.' Devina's mind wandered back to that night, when Shade and Gabe had attacked them.

Several Months ago

Shade and Gabe had fled after Val fought them off using his demonic powers, but Shade had managed to shoot Devina with a bullet containing liquid silver. Val rested Devina on her bed back at their hideout, her skin was so pale and her veins pulsed as the silver took effect. Val leaned over her, tears streaming down his face, "Please Devina..you can't die…you just can't."  
Devina looked up at him, she struggled to speak, "V…Val…I..I..lo-" she was cut off as her eyes slowly closed and her body went limp, "Devina?…Devina! No!" Val cried over her.  
After a few minutes Val took out his sword, "I won't let this be the end." he said as he cut open Devina's chest, exposing her still, lifeless heart, he then did the safe to himself, crying out in agony as the blade pierced his flesh, he cut his heart in two and took out one half, "Half my heart to make you whole." He then cut out half of Devina's heart and replaced it with his own…then just as the hedgehog neared death, he placed Devina's half in his own chest and then strained to heal his wound, closing the cut and fusing the two halves within him, he then did the same to Devina, "From now on, as long as one of us is alive, so too will the other…you're now immune to your vampiric weaknesses." as he spoke, Devina's eyes slowly opened as she took a deep breath. Val smiled as Devina looked up at him, "…Val…" she then threw her arms around Val, "Thank you…so much.."

Devina was snapped out of her daydream as Val ran up to her, making sure his cowl didn't fall, "Hey, so you ready?" he asked  
"Yeah, all set, where do we look first?" she replied  
"Hmm…well he'll probably be hiding somewhere dark given that it's daytime….The sewer!"  
"Ew, we're going into the sewer?" asked Devina, disgusted  
"It makes sense that he'd be there." Val walked over to a nearby man hole and lifted it with one hand, "Ladies first." he said with a sly smirk, Devina rolled her eyes and jumped down and landed on a small stone walkway in a large circular tunnel, there was a green river of sewage and waste flowing next to the walkway, "Oh my God! It's revolting down here, and the smell is….oh God!"  
Val jumped down and landed next her, "Yeah, but he's bound to be down here…let's go." Val walked off down the tunnel with Devina following close behind.  
After a while they came to a giant room filled with large metal cylinders filled with strange liquid, the room was also covered in a strange black web like substance, "What is this?" asked Devina  
"The water treatment facility….and that webbing…" Val slowly approached a strand of the strange material and touched it, as soon as his fingers made contact, there was an ominous rumbling.  
Just then Demon Gabe burst down through the ceiling and landed gracefully on a strand of webbing, his monstrous features seemed even more hideous in the glow of the bright lights that hung from the ceiling. Demon Gabe stood up straight and his face split in two and pulled itself back, revealing Gabe's real face beneath, the white hedgehog smirked, "Hey bro."  
Val's eyes widened, "My God, Gabe! What happened?"  
"I've learned to control it, yes, at first it was too much for me, but after getting used to this…immense power, and accepting Venom into myself…I have total control….you really have no idea what you were capable of when you possessed this power…limitless potential…but now it's mine, and I shall use it."  
Devina was speechless, 'Gabe…Venom…it can't be'  
"Gabe, I won't let you get away with this." said Val  
Gabe laughed, "Oh come on Val…with me wielding your power…and you just being your regular pathetic self, there's no chance of you winning."  
"Val!?" shouted Devina, Val froze and slowly turned to Devina, who's face was red with anger, she grabbed his cowl and tore it off, "Val! You lied to me, I've been worried sick and you had the nerve to lie about who you were after you saw how upset I was!"  
"Devina…please…we'll talk later, right now we have slightly more pressing issues."  
"….fuck you Val!" Devina screamed and ran off crying  
"Devina wait!" Val turned to go after Devina but was struck to the ground by Demon Gabe kicking him hard in the back, "Oops, did I get you into trouble with that little bitch? Oh well, at least now no one'll miss you." Gabe's face was then concealed as the shadows covered him completely, making his monstrous demon face return. Val lay on the ground, unable to move as Demon Gabe jumped onto his back, and then slashed at him with his claws, Val winced and felt his blood pour out of his wounds and run down over him and drip onto the floor.  
Demon Gabe then grabbed Val's leg and spun him round before throwing him straight up, Val crashed through the ceiling and landed hard on the concrete floor.  
Barely conscious, Val heard a voice in his head; Venom, "I told you, there's no escape from the past."  
Demon Gabe exploded up through the floor and landed next to Val, his fangs bared and razor sharp claws ready for the kill. Val struggled to roll over, he looked up at his demonic brother, "Go ahead…kill me, I won't stop you." Demon Gabe seemed surprised, his face split again, revealing Gabe's real face, "Why won't you?"  
"Because I don't care what happens to me…no one else cares about me so why should I?…it's like you said; no one will miss me."  
Gabe shrugged, "Fair enough." his face then turned back to it's demonic form and he stabbed Val over and over with his claws, yet Val never cried out or winced once, he just lay there, accepting the blinding pain. When Demon Gabe was done, he looked up and saw Val lying motionless, his eyes staring upwards. 'Sayonara…brother' Gabe thought before diving back down into the room below.  
But Val was not quite dead yet, his body lay in a pool of blood which soaked into his clothes as his thoughts returned to those who he had betrayed; Stacey and Kei-ron, he had kicked them out of his house after they had just tried to make some money…and Devina…he had left her all alone and then lied about his identity to her.  
Just as Val's sight went black, the last thing he saw was a figure looming over him and saying the words, "Chaos Control!"


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Val awoke to find himself floating in a black abyss, nothing but pure darkness surrounded him. He gasped as he remembered what happened, "Oh my God…I'm dead." suddenly a voice rang out, "Oh, so you're finally awake." Val looked up and saw a blue fox hovering in front of him, "Cronos?"  
"Yes Val…I was the one who saved you from death."  
"But why?"  
"You underestimate your own importance Valor….Mobius needs you, now and forever."  
"What d'you mean?"  
Cronos waved his hand and an image began to form beside him, it was Mobotropolis in flames, the buildings were all rubble and dead bodies lay scattered everywhere, and standing in the centre of this carnage was Demon Gabe, "This is the future of Mobius as long as Gabe continues to use your power." said Cronos, "Gabe is now fuelled by Venom, just like you were, but unlike you, Gabe is out of control, you would only be controlled for a short while, Gabe has completely submitted to Venom."  
"W..what can I do?…I can't beat him like that."  
"That's right..you can't."  
Val hung his head, "So it's over…and it's all my fault."  
"Not necessarily, there is still a chance." said Cronos, Val looked up at him, "How?"  
"If you were to go back in time, you could stop Gabe from ever obtaining Venom's power…I can send you back."  
"Wait!…there's some things I have to do first."  
"….very well..you have one hour. When your time is up I shall come and send you back." Cronos clicked his fingers and suddenly Val jumped up, he looked around and saw he was still in the sewers. He got up and ran off, looking for a manhole to get him back to the surface.  
Meanwhile, Devina sat on a rooftop with her feet hanging over the edge, she had her head in her hands, crying. As she cried, a woman in a long red dress with hair to match approached her from behind, Devina heard her footsteps and turned round, "P…Pandora?"  
The woman smiled, "Yes Devina...I'm here to help you."  
Devina turned back so she was looking out over the city, "No one can help me….Val…he…I don't know how to feel anymore."  
Pandora stood beside her and put her hand on Devina's shoulder, "I know what he did hurt you…but he is sorry, he feels just as bad about it as you do…maybe more."  
"No he doesn't, I love him…but I'm nothing to him…nothing."  
"Don't be so sure." said a voice, Devina and Pandora turned to see Val standing a few metres away, his clothes torn and bloody, "Val, what happened to you?" asked Pandora  
"Gabe attacked me….and I let him." answered Val  
"What? Why?"  
"Because I didn't care anymore…I didn't care whether I lived or died…because I hurt someone I truly love.."  
Devina blushed but quickly turned away so Val wouldn't see. The brown hedgehog walked over and knelt next to Devina, "Devina..I'm so sorry..I really am…please forgive me..I…I.."  
"Say it Val." said Pandora with a smile  
"I..love you."  
Devina slowly turned to face him, "You love me?"  
Val nodded, "I do…I love you so much."  
Devina threw her arms around Val and hugged him, Val hugged her back but quickly pulled away, "Come on, we don't have much time."  
"Wait what?" asked Devina  
"I'll explain on the way, let's go." Val stood up, as did Devina, Val turned to Pandora, "Thank you." Pandora smiled and nodded. Val and Devina then ran off together.  
A few minutes later Val and Devina were running through the city, "So unless we go back and stop Gabe, Mobius is doomed?" said Devina  
"Basically, yeah." replied Val  
They eventually came to an apartment building, Val ran up the steps and looked down the list of names of the people who lived there, he stopped at one and pressed a button next to it, near the names was an intercom, from it came the words, "Yeah, who's there?"  
"Kei-ron, it's me, Val."  
"Oh…what do you want?"  
"Please let me come up, I need to talk to you."  
There was a pause for a few moments, and then Val heard a buzzing, he opened the front door and held it open for Devina before walking up to the apartment door with the number 27 on it. Val took a deep breath and knocked on the door, Kei-ron opened the door, "Yeah?"  
"Uh..I wanted to say sorry for kicking you out before." said Val  
"Oh really?"  
"Yeah…can we come in?"  
The robotic Mobian paused and then stepped aside, letting Val and Devina enter, "Where's Stacey?" asked Val  
"In her bedroom, hang on. Stacey!" Kei-ron shouted, Val heard Stacey from another room shout back, "What!?"  
"Get out here, Val wants to talk to us!"  
A moment later Stacey emerged from a door at the other end of the apartment.  
After a few minutes V al had explained the situation.  
"So let me get this straight," said Kei-ron, "You want us to go back in time with you and help to beat your brother or else the whole world is screwed?"  
"Pretty much." said Val  
Kei-ron and Stacey looked at each other, "What the Hell. I'm in." said Kei-ron  
"Really?" said Val  
"Yeah, about time I killed something."  
"Yeah, I'm coming too. Why should you get all the fun?" said Stacey  
"Great..now I just need to get our transport sorted out…Cronos!" Val shouted, suddenly there was a blue flash and Cronos appeared, "We're ready."  
"So you're all going?" Cronos asked  
"Yep…we're a team." replied Val  
"Very well…..Chaos Control!"  
There was a flash of bright white light and suddenly everyone found themselves in the city centre, Val looked around for Cronos, but he was gone, "Well..I guess we can assume we're at the right time." he said. His eyes widened with horror when he looked up at the clock tower nearby, "Oh you've gotta be kidding!" he yelled  
"What is it Val?" asked Devina  
"Dammit Cronos!" he said angrily, "We've got less then three minutes to make it to the tower and stop Gabe!"  
"What!?" shouted the others  
"We gotta move, now!" Val looked around and pointed to a large stone pillar on the other side of the city, "There!" Then Val closed his eyes and focused, "Chaos Control!" In another flash, they were instantly warped to the base of the tower. Val looked around, a confused look on his face, "Why didn't you warp us to the top?" asked Kei-ron  
"I dunno..somehow this place is blocking my Chaos Control." answered Val  
"So what do we do now?" said Stacey  
"There's no time, we'll just have to run to the top." replied Val  
"Are you kidding? This thing goes on for miles, there's no way we can make it to the top in time." said Kei-ron  
"Relax, I can handle it." said Val, now seemingly more confident, "I'll race ahead and stop Gabe from taking Venom, you guys just catch up as soon as you can."  
And with that, Val ran in through the double doors and up the spiral staircase.  
Just under three minutes later, Val could feel he was almost there, he could hear voices from above…there it is! The trapdoor. Val jumped up and spun upward, bursting through the door and landing gracefully on the roof of the edifice, he glanced around and saw Gabe standing between the two pillars, and a second Val, his former self, staring at him in disbelief, his gaze moving between Val and Gabe, then Val saw a black shape moving across the ground towards Gabe; Venom!  
"No! Venom..you're mine!" shouted Val as he drew his sword and charged at the dark puddle.  
Val plunged his left hand into the darkness and groaned as he felt it suddenly grip him, he watched as it started to climb up his arm, covering it in black  
"No! How is this possible!?" yelled Gabe, Val looked up as Venom started to cover his shoulder, "Venom is not your power, Gabe..he's my curse."  
"You bastard!" Gabe drew his sword and ran at Val, suddenly Gabe's face met the ground, Val looked around and saw his other self holding his glowing orange hand out towards Gabe, 'Chaos Spear?' thought Val, 'But how? This place blocks my own Chaos powers.' before he could ask what was happening, Val felt a rush of pain from his left arm all the way through his whole left side, he looked down and saw it was all covered in darkness, "V..Venom.." Val looked up and saw Gabe climbing to his feet, clutching the hilt of his sword tightly, "Damn you Val," he said quietly, "Damn you!" he ran at Val and thrust the blade of his sword at his brother. Val grabbed the blade with his shadow covered hand, stopping it dead, "You want Venom's power?" Val asked as his fangs grew longer and sharper, "Well here it is!" he threw Gabe back and snarled as his eyes turned poisonous yellow and his fur turned completely black.  
Val watched as Venom charged up two dark energy balls; one in each hand, "Chaos Sphere!" he threw them at the two poles, which exploded on impact, before glaring at Gabe.  
As Venom approached, he laughed evilly, "When I'm done with you..I'm gonna send you to Oblivion..let's see how tough you are there 'brother'." he then reached out to grab Gabe's neck as he stared in terror at his demonic sibling, suddenly Venom winced and turned to see Val holding a smoking gun, "He might've done terrible things..but he doesn't deserve Oblivion."  
"How would you know?..you don't know what he would've done if he's gotten my power." replied Venom  
"Maybe..but he's not as evil as you!" shouted Val as he threw a punch at Venom, who effortlessly blocked it by crossing his arm against Val's.  
As their arms crossed, the pair started to glow, "What the Hell?" said Val  
"It's a time paradox." answered Venom, "We're both the same thing..there can't be two of us… so time is forcing us into one."  
"But which one?" asked Val  
"Whichever side is dominant." replied Venom as he smirked  
There was a flash of golden light which surrounded the entire roof of the tower. As it slowly faded, Venom dropped to the ground, breathing heavily, he looked around; Val was gone.  
Venom stood up and smirked, "Finally…he's gone..Valor the Hedgehog is dead! And there is only Venom!" Venom then turned and started to walk towards Gabe, he was a few feet away when he suddenly froze, paralysed, "What the?"  
"Don't be so sure of yourself." said a voice, Venom could hear it clearly in his head; Val's voice, "No! This can not be!" he shouted  
"Time is correcting the paradox we created…everything is returning to normal…you will return to being second to me, I can control you now just as I should." said Val  
Venom screeched and cried out as he glowed with a bright white light, and in a single flash, the light faded and Val fell to his knees.  
Gabe stood up and looked on, 'He beat Venom? How? He can't possibly be THAT powerful…can he?….Either way, that power was my key to total domination for my master..He ruined everything!'  
Gabe grabbed his sword and ran at Val, suddenly Val blocked the attack with his own blade, "Just you and me now, Gabe." Val quickly climbed to his feet and kicked his brother away. As Gabe fell back, an eerie evil yet feminine laughter filled the air. There was a green flash next to Gabe and Jade appeared, with a dark brown porcupine and a grey wolverine behind her, "Hello lover." she said as she smirked at Val, who gritted his teeth, "Jade…this time, you're going back to the Master Emerald..forever!"  
"Heh, oh please..you can't win against all of us..of speaking of which, this is Ravana," she pointed to the porcupine, "And Smoke." she turned to the wolverine.  
Val got into a fighting stance as the four Mobians bared down on him. Jade went to punch Val, he was about to block it when a gunshot rang out, Jade's eyes widened as she looked down at the bullet hole in her stomach, she turned to see Devina, Kei-ron and Stacy standing next to the broken trapdoor, Devina pointed her still smoking gun at the echidna, "Get away from him, you bitch."  
"Devina?" said Val, "You finally made it huh?"  
"Yep, the cavalry's here…seems like we're just in time for the party." Devina replied  
"Uh-huh, everyone pick an opponent..and kick their ass."


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Val fell back and hit the ground hard, Gabe towered over him, smirking. Val looked around the rooftop; Stacey and Ravana were fighting hand to hand, Kei-ron and Smoke were each running around trying to shoot each other, Smoke using a machine gun, Kei-ron was using his arm, which had the ability to morph into almost any weapon due to thousands of nanobots built into him and had turned into a rail gun. And Devina was using her armblades to fight Jade, who was using a long gold staff.

"It's over Val," said Gabe, "You lose…time to die."

Val then quickly sat up and punched Gabe hard in the stomach, sending him soaring towards the edge of the tower, Val then warped behind Gabe and kicked him skyward, "I'm not ready to die again just yet." he said as he charged two purple fireballs in his hands and threw them at Gabe.

The fireballs exploded on impact and launched Gabe high into the sky.

Val looked over and saw Devina struggling to hold off Jade. The green echidna smirked evilly and swung the end of the staff at Devina, suddenly Val jumped in between them and grabbed the staff, holding it effortlessly, Jade's eyes widened as Val glared at her and snarled. He punched Jade in the face, making her stumble, before spinning round and hitting her hard with her own staff. As Jade fell, Devina plunged both of her armblades into her shoulders, pinning Jade to the ground. Jade screamed in pain as Val turned and ran towards Stacey and Ravana.

"Get ready, bitch. I'm gonna cut you open." said Ravana as he took a knife out of his pocket

"Oh wow, real scary." replied Stacey, sarcastically, "Why don't you look behind you."

"Oh yeah, like I'm gonna fall for that old trick." Ravana then froze as he felt a finger tapping his shoulder, "Aw man." He turned and saw Val throwing a punch. Ravana flew through the air towards Stacey, who jumped into the air and roundhouse kicked him, sending Ravana tumbling over the edge of the tower.

As Ravana's cries faded, Val noticed the sound of gunfire had stopped, he turned and saw Smoke lying on the ground, gasping as he lay in a pool of blood with Kei-ron standing over him.

The four all gathered near the centre of the tower, "We did it." said Val, "We changed the future and saved Mobius."

Just then Val's ear twitched, he quickly pushed everyone out of the way as a large beam of energy crashed into the tower, sending dust and smoke everywhere. Devina stood up and looked around, squinting against the debris. She saw Val hanging onto a large hole that went all the way down to the bottom of the tower, "Val!" she opened her wings and flew over and helped pull Val up, "What just happened?"

Then an evil laughter filled the air as Gabe floated down from above, but he was different; he had long black hair flowing upward, his fur was bright red and had demonic wings and a tail, "Congratulations Val, you've successfully destroyed my plans once again., but this is where it ends. I WILL kill you…right here, right now."

Val glared at his brother as he took off his coat, threw it to the ground and stepped forward, "You just don't get it, do you? You can't kill me!" Val then exploded in a blast of red energy, Devina, Stacey and Kei-ron shielded their eyes and Gabe simply looked on, his eyes burning red with hatred.

When the light finally faded everyone gasped at the sight before them; Val had taken on a similar transformation to Gabe, his fur was now blood red, his hair was long, black and pointing upward, as were his quills. His eyes were now a cold grey colour and his tail had grown longer.

"What the Hell happened??" asked Stacey

"Perfect Val…" answered Devina, "Val's ultimate power is unleashed once again."

Val then warped up to Gabe and punched him hard in the face, sending him flying back, Gabe then charged up a bolt of lightning and threw it at Val, who batted it away with his hand like it was nothing.

"Do you understand now, brother?" said Val, "I'm stronger then you are…but it's not because of Venom. It's because I train hard and have better control. It's not about how much power you have, it's about how well you control it."

"Shut up!!" yelled Gabe, "You're not stronger then me! I'll prove it right now by destroying you!"

Val smirked and put his hands together in a hand sign, "Shadow Clone Jutsu!" in flashes of energy two copies of Val appeared either side of him, Gabe's eyes widened, "Think you can destroy all of us, Gabe?"

"Damn you, Val! That's not fair.!"

"Who says fights have to be fair?" The three Vals disappeared, leaving Gabe alone. He looked around, trying to sense Val when suddenly one of the clones flew at Gabe at top speed and kicked him in the chest, causing blood to spurt from his mouth as he was launched towards the second clone, who uppercut him, sending him skyward. The real Val was waiting for Gabe, charging a large energy ball as he came up to eye level with Val, who then fired the blast. Gabe was sent flying through the air. He managed to stop himself and hovered in mid air, looking down at the bruises all over his body, he then looked up and saw Val floating a few metres away. Gabe then sensed the two clones coming at him again, 'This time, I'm ready for them' he thought "Explosive Wave attack!" a giant sphere of electricity emanated from Gabe and caught the clones, making them both explode in small blasts of energy. Val flew away, out of range of the attack and watched it die down. Val and Gabe then flew at each other and started fist fighting, each one moving at light speed and matching each other blow to blow. Devina, Stacey and Kei-ron all watched, struggling to keep up with what was going on, by now the streets were filling up with hundreds of Mobians, all watching the spectacle. Val and Gabe soared around the sky over Mobotropolis, fighting. Eventually Val hit Gabe in the face, making him reel back. The two then hovered at equal height with around 30 metres distance, Gabe wiped the blood from his mouth and yelled, "Fine! If I can't beat you, I'll take out all the people I can! I'll destroy all of Mobotropolis myself!" Val's eyes widened as Gabe said this and started charging an enormous light blue energy ball above his head.

"Gabe, don't be an idiot. This is the same trick Necron pulled, and it failed, remember?" said Val

"Yes 'brother' I do, and this time, you have no one to help you…not even those little bitches you hang around with."

Val gritted his teeth and snarled slightly, "That's it Gabe! You're going down!" he held his hands out to the sides and started charging a golden energy ball in each.

A news helicopter had seen what was happening and was now posting a live broadcast on a large TV screen that hung from the side of a skyscraper in the centre of Mobotropolis, a sandy brown female mongoose sat in the copter as a turquoise male fox filmed her with a camera, "Ladies and gentlemen, two mysterious red Mobians have appeared in the sky above Mobotropolis and are currently in the middle of a fierce battle. One of them seems bent on our destruction, while the other is fighting for all of us. Whoever this mystery man is, all our hopes are with him. Good luck."

Val focused harder and harder, pouring all his energy into this final attack, as Gabe did the same.

Not far away, on top of a tall skyscraper, a black hedgehog with red streaks in his quills was watching Val and Gabe, his long brown coat blowing in the wind, "You can do it Val."

"Gabe looked down at Val with an insane look, "Die Val!" he fired a gargantuan blue beam of energy at Val, who clashed his hands together and fired a gold beam of equal size, the two blasts collided and started an intense power struggle, both hedgehogs trying desperately to gain the upper hand.

Back on the top of the ruined tower, Devina watched, praying for Val to win, "There must be something I can do." she said, she then remembered Val threw his coat down, "Wait…maybe.." she ran over and rummaged through the pockets, her heart leapt as she felt something hard in one of them, "Yes!!" she exclaimed as she pulled a large grey gem out, "A Chaos Emerald…now I can help Val."

"Devina, what're you talking about?" asked Stacey, but Devina didn't answer, she focused on the emerald's power and began to glow. There was a flash of black energy and suddenly Devina transformed' her skin was much more tanned, her fur was pure black and she pulsed with dark energy.

Val and Gabe were too immersed in their power battle to notice Devina fly up and float behind Gabe. Val then sensed a change in the energy around him and recognised it as Devina's Super form, he then realised what she was planning and readied himself.

Devina started charging an energy blast aimed for Gabe's back. By the time Gabe realised Devina was there, she had already finished charging, he quickly turned and tried to block her blast with one hand while holding his own blast with his other hand. Val the gave his gold energy beam one last push, it grew larger and burst through Gabe's beam and hit him full force, Devina warped out of the way as Gabe was sent streaking past her by Val's beam.

The energy pouring into Gabe's body became too much, he screamed as he flew through the sky, "Damn you Valor the Hedgehog!!" suddenly he exploded, sending a shockwave throughout the sky.

The city erupted with cheers as Gabe died, Val and Devina both looked down at the masses below, screaming and clapping. They then flew over and landed on the tower and changed back to normal.

Devina threw her arms around Val and kissed him, "You did it Val."

"I couldn't have done it without you." Val replied

Just then there was a flash of blue light and Cronos appeared, "Congratulations, to all of you. You've once again saved all of Mobius. We are all in your dept."

"Thanks Cronos." said Val, "Uh…how bout getting us down from here?"

"Of course." Cronos clicked his fingers and Val, Devina, Stacey and Kei-ron were warped down to the streets where an army of people were waiting for them.. Hundreds of Mobians swarmed around them, cheering. But Val looked past the crowds, and up onto a rooftop, there stood the black and red hedgehog. Val smiled and nodded to him, the hedgehog smirked and nodded back before holding up a green gem and disappearing.

The sandy mongoose ran up to the group, "I'm Nina with Channel 12 news, can you tell us your names?"

"This is Stacey, Kei-ron and Devina." said Val

"And you are?"

"Me?…I'm Val the Hedgehog. Remember it…cause I'm here to stay."


End file.
